


Green and White

by 13thSyndicate



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Fluff, I am JaeKi trash and I am okay with this, I forgot the hyphen in jae-ha's name and I am way too lazy to edit them all, Jae-ha and Kija both really love Yona, Jae-ha learns to open up, Jae-ha thinks about the people important to him, M/M, MY WHITE AND GREEN BABIES, One-Sided Love, jaeki, some mildly homophobic comments on Kija's part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 18:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7856554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/13thSyndicate/pseuds/13thSyndicate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jae-ha finds Kija pining over their red-headed princess, he takes it on himself to act - because, really. They all love Yona, just a little bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green and White

**Author's Note:**

> I am JaeKi trash and I am not sorry.

Once upon a time, Jaeha thought he could never learn to love any creature on this earth. The scars on his wrists, always covered with long sleeves, are proof of that, and proof of why, the faint markings where cuffs rubbed raw for too many years. He thought, also, that no human being could ever love or understand him, and the reason for that sits heavy in his elegant right boot and throbs when Yona gets too close.

Things have really changed since then. Now, there are two people, at least, in the world who Jaeha loves more than life itself. Captain Gigan, that old woman, wormed her way, burned her way, dug her way with nails and a voice like her rough, salty boat deep into Jaeha's heart. Her and the boys and all of the crew would be his friends until the not-so-distant day he died and he'd never admit it to her face but that salty old woman was the mother he never had. It certainly hadn't been Garou who'd taught him to play his instruments, the erhu and the flute and so many more - flute and pennywhistle had been the crew, but erhu was Gigan's secret skill. He looks off into the distance and can recall every line on her face, and hopes she's doing well.

The other person is Yona. He loves her and for a while he hated himself for it, falling for, caring for, burning for the embodiment of that legendary King he hated so much for cursing him to a dragon's life. He can't hate himself anymore. He doesn't follow Yona because he has to; if she gave him an order, he would follow it because of the dragon's blood, but she's never once given him such an order. If he wanted to take off right now, to fly away with his dragon's leg, he could, and that, more than anything else, is why he stays. His heart is bound with something much stronger than the steel chains they once used to tie him to earth. She is utterly in love with the Dark Dragon that isn't, her Hak, her bodyguard, and it kills him a little inside every moment he watches them together. Kills him, and fulfills him, because her smile means more to her even than Gigan's rare praises.

That Hakuryuu, that Kija, loves her too. He catches him stealing glances and making red faces at her and it's so hard to believe how old he is (older than Hak, for certain, and isn't that a surprise) watching him moon over her like a lovestruck boy. It annoys and amuses Jaeha all at the same time, even as Kija himself annoys and amuses him. He seems like such a lapdog - less the overeager puppy that he was when they first met, but a dog all the same - happily barking out story after story about the dragons of old and their proud and noble lineage, but he's as dedicated to protecting Yona as any of them, maybe even more so. He doesn't like fighting, and it can be seen on his face as he does, grim and brooding and utterly focused, almost to the point where Jaeha wonders if he doesn't enjoy it, just a little bit, and is fighting to keep the anger down.

Kija is watching Yona now, too, bright and vibrant blue eyes fixed on her cloaked back and a gentle smile touching his face. He moves up to offer his help with something, to suggest that, it's getting late, maybe they should camp. Yona says she can go the extra mile or so before Hak wants to stop, but Jaeha doesn't need Shin-ah's eyes to see that she's wobbling on her feet. Shin-ah probably doesn't even need Shin-ah's eyes to see, because he's suddenly at her side, quietly mentioning that there's a good campsite nearby, and Hak, who's human as human can be, agrees that they might not find this sort of opportunity again. They all flock and gather around her, and Jaeha stays back, smiling to himself at the bunch of children and wishing that he were on better terms with the gods, because he wants her smiling like that at him.

Camp is made, Yoon finding firewood and edible mushrooms with Shin-ah's help, and Hak is fussing over the princess, and Kija is sitting with that adorably annoying expression on his face, as far from Yona as he can be and still keep a close eye on her, flushing slightly to himself and running a self-conscious hand over that claw of his. It's as close to human as it gets, right now, barely larger than a human hand and covered with white scales that glint oddly in the firelight. Zeno is curled up by the fire, but a part of Jaeha knows that the old-young dragon is watching the two of them as he goes to sit next to Kija.

"Thinking about our dear Yona?" he asks with an easy smirk and the Hakuryuu starts, nearly falling over as his face turns a brilliant red.

"I-I-I was just.... thinking about how to, to maximise the princess' safety," he stammers out, and Jaeha just laughs because there's really no other response to such a blatant lie.

"Oh? Her safety is what causes you to sigh and twitch that claw of yours, that you love so much, like you wish it didn't exist?"

If it is possible for Kija to turn any redder, he does, his face now close to matching the shade of their beloved princess' hair. "I.... I don't.... I mean..."

"No reason to hide it," Jaeha says gently, shaking his head, standing up and shaking his ponytail out, as though it had picked up leaves or dust from that morning's almost-flight. He doesn't have to - it hasn't - but he does it anyway because appearing hte dandy is both second nature and a defense to him, now. He takes pity on Kija, who is so much more naive than a man of his age should be, so much more sensitive than someone like Jaeha, who has seen the worst of the world. "All of us are a little in love with the dear princess, after all."

"We... are?" Kija asks and the conflict on his face is so apparent and so striking that it almost pains Jaeha to look at.

"Of course," he says, flippantly. "How could we not be? She's beautiful, she's kind... even if it weren't for the dragon's blood in our veins, which doesn't help the matter at all. To you she represents the King your family has been waiting for for two thousand years of Hakuryuu generations. Shin-ah literally owes her his life and freedom. She is strong and she is weak at the same time, both deserving of our protection and respect." He would never speak so frankly about Yona to anyone else, in any moment but this one. If Hak were around, none of this would ever have escaped his lips and yet.... Jaeha isn't the same man who left Awa that day, such a short eternity ago. Maybe, he thinks, I'm learning to open up just a little. And isn't that the gods' own cruel joke?

"And what about you?" Kija asks, and his question is quiet.

I can't bear the thought of someone so frail and so strong, Jaeha thinks to himself. I look at her and see that cloaked figure, turning back to me with tears in her eyes, telling me to stay away because she will do this on her own, and know that there is no other choice but to support her. Instead, he says, "Ah, how could I not give my heart to such a vision of beauty as our lovely Yona?" and in a way it's true but he can feel that Kija knows he's lying.

All of the dragons are growing up. Kija has apparently learned tact, because he doesn't press the issue.

"She doesn't love Hak because he's a human and you aren't," Jaeha says, bluntly, the only way he knows how. Comforting people isn't something he ever had the chance to learn - neither Garou nor Gigan were gentle people - and he doesn't really think he's very good at it. "She loves him because she's known him forever, and because he takes care of her. He loves her because she's beautiful and because they've been together their whole lives, and because he thought she was a fragile person and now she's bloomed and like the rest of us he can see that she isn't."

"So you see it too, then?" Kija asks, looking over and up at him, and he laughs and shakes his head.

"Kija, the only one who _doesn't_ see it is those two."

"So how do you deal with it?"

Once again, that pain, that conflict, that sudden warring of emotions, and this time it's strong enough that Jaeha can _feel_ it, the dragons' bond drawing them closer until the backs of their minds blur together. It's a feeling that Jaeha isn't sure he likes, but can't quite bring himself to _hate_ , either, and that makes him uncomfortable. He sighs.

"I think about the way she smiles," he admits, and thinks to himself he might take himself off somewhere to be alone, to regather the walls that have somehow crumbled away with a few minutes of frank discussion. This is possibly the longest he and Kija have ever gone without insulting each other, and it's more annoying than ever that the thing he can finally agree with the white dragon on is how much it sucks that they both love a princess who is devoted to someone else. "If she's smiling, and happy... well, it's not so bad that she's smiling at someone else, is it?" He chuckles. "And I blame it on my blood, because it helps, just a little bit. If I tell myself that this is only the dragon's blood compelling me to love Hiryuu, it's easier to ignore. It only works for so long, though... and less well if you're doing it on purpose."

Kija looks a little shocked at that and Jaeha chuckles again. "What? Did I say something wrong, Hakuryuu? Shocked and appalled that I hate my blood so much? Or..." and walls fall a little farther into place again as he leans forward and whispers into Kija's ear, "...is it the idea that the original dragons might have been compelled to feel the way you feel about Yona dearest towards their handsome king that has you so scandalized?"

Kija's face is the color of Yona's hair for certain now and Jaeha laughs, secretly glad to be out of that moment of true frankness and back into his element. Kija seems to be shaking, a little, trying to hold in some emotion, and his laughter grows.

"S-stop that! It isn't funny!" Kija exclaims, brandishing that claw the way he only does when he's mad or flustered about something - which is surprisingly often. Kija is a shockingly emotional creature.

"What? Don't tell me that the idea has never occurred to you?" Jaeha teases. "You actually are scandalized... it's somewhat adorable, really. Hey, hey... shall we ask the old man, then? 'Tell us, what _did_ the dragons feel about Hiryuu?' Hmmm?"

"N-no! No, no, you don't..."

"Zeno, Zeno....!"

Kija's face as he attempts to quiet Jaeha is amusingly like Yona's when he offered to ask Hak for a hug from her, but the white-haired man's hands are actually shaking, and Jaeha has the sense that this time, this time, he might have gone too far.

"Alright, alright, I won't," he offers in the way of platitude. "You seem... incredibly worked up about this, Kija. Is it really so awful for you to think about?"

He pulls away from Jaeha and the older man catches the idea that he doesn't know the whole story, a fleeting feeling at the back of his mind as Kija withdraws.

"It isn't right. The dragons' duties involve assuring an heir. Hiryuu had a wife, as did all of the dragons who served him." Kija's eyes flicker in the direction of a golden-haired shape that hasn't moved from beside the fire. "Such things shouldn't be said about the original four. I- I am going to bed. It's been a long day, goodnight, Jaeha."

He knows, now, that he's misstepped, but he can't for the life of him understand how or where he fumbled the landing. It's hard to understand, especially when he feels a spark of anger igniting inside him. Kija, such a stickler for tradition, and even in Kouka where those involved in such things are looked at somewhat with disdain and mistrust, the practice isn't exactly forbidden or unheard of. Even kings and generals, tasked with securing lineages and successions, are known for taking lovers, and as long as a spectacle isn't made, who those lovers are is generally little more than a subject for idle gossip.

So then, why? And was Kija really so insensitive, so blind, as to not notice the effect his words might have? To not have realized that Jaeha's discerning eye, though more openly placed on those of the fairer sex, hadn't exactly discriminated in the past? Certainly Hak had told the story of Jaeha’s rather embarrassing attempts to recruit him.

Half of a mind to tear his friend's head off and half of a mind to demand to know what's wrong, Jaeha reaches out without thinking, catching Kija's nearest hand - the right hand, the dragon's claw, rough-covered with smooth scales - and opening his mouth, not sure which is going to come out... and words die on his lips. For the first time in his life, Jaeha's bonds with the other three are fully open, and with the close contact amplified by the dragon blood, Kija's emotions pour into him for just a split second. Confusion, turmoil, a hundred different feelings and too late, Jaeha understands so perfectly clearly the conflict in Kija's voice as he asked if Jaeha really meant it when he said _all_ of them were in love with Yona.

Kija's claw slips out of his hand, and the younger man disappears. Yona is calling after him, Hak is demanding to know what "droopy-eyes" said, Yoon is scolding him for how he made Kija run off like that, and he can't speak, can't do anything but stand there with hand outstretched, completely dumbfounded. Blue eyes of a much lighter hue are watching him from beside the fire, he can feel Shin-ah's intense gaze coming from somewhere nearby, and all Jaeha can think of is how much of an idiot he's been.

He had mentally accused Kija of being blind, but he is the one who hadn't seen.

How has he not noticed this? How is it that he hasn't caught on?

How is it he's never seen that Yona isn't the only one who Kija stares at, when he doesn't think anyone is looking.

And maybe, just maybe, how is it that he's never noticed that there might be a third person on that list of his?


End file.
